Prediction – Warriors 112, Jazz 91
Maybe the Warriors will have a hard time assimilating Steph Curry and Kevin Durant after KD missed such an extended period of time. Maybe the Jazz role players will step up in a big way. Maybe Rudy Gobert will have an incredible game. Maybe the Warriors will be unmotivated and come out flat-footed due to the fact that they have little at stake in this game.
There’s a lot of hypothetical situations that could possibly point to a Jazz win. Unfortunately, none of them appear to be all that realistic. Even at full strength this would be a tough contest for the Jazz and given the fact that they’re likely to be drastically shorthanded, I’m not seeing much hope for a victory.
Therefore, just as I noted in my week preview piece from this morning, I’m predicting that the Jazz fall to the Warriors in blowout fashion by a score of 112-91.
More from The J-Notes
- With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
- Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
- Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
- 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
- Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone
If such ends up being the case, the Jazz will find themselves all but guaranteed to finish with the fifth seed in the West. Unless the Clippers somehow lose to both the Rockets and Kings in their final two games while the Jazz go on to eke out a win against the Spurs on Wednesday, a loss tomorrow night would essentially demolish Utah’s hopes of earning home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
That’s a bummer to be sure, but at this point Utah’s main area of concern has to be arriving healthy to the postseason. A win over the Warriors tomorrow would be an exciting way to wrap up the season, but of course it wouldn’t be nearly as important as making some noise in the playoffs.
Therefore, the Jazz will more than likely find themselves on the losing end of tomorrow’s battle, but with just five days remaining before the start of the playoffs, the plan will be to get as healthy as possible, then reverse their fate in the first round of postseason play.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com